Apollo and Dionysus visit the Black rock.

Dionysus gets to go first.

            This week is the Burning Man festival.  I have never been to Burning Man, however, someday I will make the pilgrimage.  Burning Man festival is held each year the last week before Labor Day on the Black Rock Desert, Nevada..  For information on this event check this site out.

  

            This year the theme apparently is “The Green Man” This is taken as some kind of ecological theme and a few people seem confused at the relevance.  From what I understand an ecological emphasis is kind of redundant for the Burning Man festival.  The attendees, also known as Burners, have a particular pride in taking everything they need with them and leaving nothing behind when they leave.  Ecology to burners is like teaching swimming to fish.  I have an alternate theory behind the intent of casting the theme of a Green Man. 

The Green Man is also represented as the mascot of the Pyrotechnics Guild International.

Read up on their history here.

And here.

  

 So maybe the combination of ecology, and fire is the real intent upon this years Burning Man theme.

            People who attend the Burning Man festival each year call themselves “Burners”.  Shortly after the Burners all pack up and leave the Black rock another group of people invade the Playa.  The next event is Balls 16, and shows the exact opposite of Burning Man.  Where BM is all about art, Balls is about science.  You can draw all the parallels and perpendiculars you want.  Read up on both events and decide for your self.  So the Burners will be gone by the time I get to the Black Rock desert.  I would suggest that we who fire rockets in the name of science call ourselves Afterburners. 

 

-PF